


from the start

by Hellokaelyn



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, help idk what to put for tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: Team Gibbs catches a new murder case, Lucia Campbell—resulting in Ellie meeting her brother.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 17
Kudos: 55





	from the start

**Author's Note:**

> I know nothing about the Marines so hopefully I didn't mess anything up lol but there isn't much of it in here anyway just Nick's title. 
> 
> Only half edited.

Waking up that morning she had a feeling in her gut. That something would be happening, things would change. 

It did nothing but frustrate her beyond belief and make her anxious. 

Ellie felt it again in that moment as she stood in front of the screen, a Marine’s picture on it with his service record beside it that she read multiple times already. He was the younger brother of Lucia Campbell, their victim for the case. Ellie felt it the second she saw his picture and had no idea why. Yes, the man was attractive, but he was the  _ brother of their victim _ and for all she knew could be involved in his sisters murder—having any feelings towards him of any kind wasn’t right.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Torres was on his way to the Navy Yard to be interviewed and see his sister's body, Lucia’s daughter and his niece Amanda who was away at college for her freshman year was flying back but wouldn’t be there until the next day.

She glanced at his service record again, swallowing hard at the info she read. He'd been in the Marines since he was eighteen, and from what she saw and heard was a role model for other Marines, rising through the ranks and well liked by his superiors. Until a little over a year ago when he was medically discharged after the base he was stationed at for the moment got attacked in an ambush. Torres’ leg got severely injured but could have been fixed according to the doctors reports, but he instead risked his leg and life by helping out his fellow Marines, saving three of their lives in the process—but by then there was too much damage done to his leg. Ellie shifted on her foot and bit her lip, stomach rolling anxiously as she glanced at the clock.

McGee and Gibbs strolled into the squad room right as the elevator sounded. They all turned knowing exactly who it was. 

Torres walked towards them at a slower pace with a limp, putting a portion of his weight on the metal cane he was walking with and his guide from downstairs who Gibbs sent away with a nod. 

“Colonel Torres.” Gibbs greeted with a nod, shaking Torres’ hand. 

Ellie’s mouth felt dry as she looked at him. It had been a year since the picture she only seconds before took off the screen was taken. He looked rougher around the edges and like he wasn’t sleeping much..but Ellie’s heart picked up in speed as the attraction towards him pulled harder. She knew the facial hair wasn’t helping matters, and she had a quick thought of how that scruff would feel against her inner thighs before she shoved it down—hard. Just like she had to stop herself from licking her lips at the way his muscles looked in that tight shirt he was wearing.

She cursed herself in her head. Ellie was  _ done _ with guys for a while, she needed a break after the mess that was her last relationship..and the last thing Ellie needed was to start something with a man involved in their case.

_ Not that he would be interested Ellie jeez _ she thought to herself. 

“Agent Gibbs, nice to meet you.” Torres smiled tightly, and Ellie thought he looked a little pained at Gibbs addressing him. “Please just call me Nick.”

Ellie had to place her hand on McGee’s desk to keep herself upright, her knees weakening at hearing his voice for the first time. God she was absolutely pathetic right now wasn’t she. Never before had she felt this way towards a man she only knew a few seconds of info about. She almost missed it when Gibbs introduced her to him.

Her hand felt small in his large one, and he was warm against her cold skin. Ellie’s stomach flipped at his thumb caressing her hand before pulling away. 

What the hell was tha-

Ellie sucked in a quiet breath at the way his eyes looked her over. Like he wanted to  _ devour _ her. She bit her tongue hard to keep any noises away. Was she in a dream? Was this all some joke?

Thankfully Gibbs didn’t pick her to interview him, instead doing it himself with McGee following. 

She sat in her chair on shaky legs. Never did she think it was actually possible to get weak in the knees by a man that easily.

It was an hour later when they came back, thankfully Ellie was able to dig more into Lucia’s life to find a possible motive for who could’ve wanted her dead. One of the last things she wanted to do was slack on her work and Gibbs discovering she was distracted by Torres.

Ellie felt a sadness though when she noticed the redness around his eyes, like he was trying his hardest not to cry or recently just did. Guilt settled in the pit of her stomach. This was Torres’  _ sister _ they were trying to find justice for, and here she was thinking very unprofessional thoughts.

“Bishop, take Torres down to autopsy.”

“I uh- sure.” She let out a shaky sigh and stood, gathering everything she found and handing it to McGee. “What I got while you were in the conference room.” 

McGee nodded with a mumbled ‘thanks’, flipping through it already as he went to sit back at his desk. 

“So um- let’s go.” Ellie smiled at Torres but was pretty positive it looked more like a grimace. 

“Lead the way Agent Bishop.” He said following behind her as they headed towards the elevator. 

“You can call me Ellie.” She blurted out in one quick breath right as the doors opened. Her cheeks pinked slightly 

“Ellie.” He mumbled more to himself than anything, and she turned her head to the side in a need to hide her little smile. It sounded nice...her name coming from his lips.

But all of that came to a halt when they reached their destination. Ellie breathed out and tried giving him a supporting smile as they walked off, the autopsy doors sliding open. Thankfully there was no Jimmy in sight—just Lucia’s covered body laying on the middle autopsy table. 

“You don’t have to do this you know.” Ellie told him softly. 

“I do.” Torres ran a hand roughly down his face, walking over with her to Lucia. “Lucia was more of a parent to me than our own parents, she’s the reason I am who I am, the reason I survived this long.” He mumbled, making Ellie’s heart clench. “And Amanda is going to want confirmation, and there’s no way I’m letting her do this.”

“Okay..” Ellie said low, reaching for the covering. “Are you sure..Nick?”

His eyes shot to her face, surprise on his face at her using his first name. “Do it.”

Ellie nodded, slowly revealing Lucia’s face. 

Torres—Nick—bent his head, needing to lean on the table as he took deep breaths. “She really is gone?”

Cautiously she reached a hand out, placing it on his own. Nick’s tense shoulders settled a little.

“I know it doesn’t change anything..but I really am sorry for your loss Nick.”

He gave her a watery smile, eyes wet with tears he refused to let fall. “It still means a lot Ellie, thanks. Lucia was..strong, and the best role model I could’ve asked for.” 

Ellie’s fingers twitched in an effort to keep herself from taking hold of his hand. Self control was something she was good at, but it seemed Nick Torres could take down her defenses without any effort at all. It terrified her and interested her all at the same time. Ellie loved puzzles, and Nick seemed like a challenging one.

“Do you have any siblings?” Nick suddenly asked after a moment of silence, his gaze slowly turning to her as he wiped a hand across his eyes. 

“Three older brothers.” She said with a chuckle. His eyes widened for a second making her laugh under her breath. “George, John, and Robbie..I don’t know what I would’ve done growing up without them. Annoying most of the time, but they protected me and taught me a lot.” She finished saying softly.

“Let me guess..school was rough?” Nick tilted his head slightly, looking as if he was studying her. Ellie’s heart jumped in her chest. He really wanted to know things about her? It had been a while since anyone genuinely wanted to get to know her.

“You can say that.” She grimaced. “I was too...me, I guess.”

Nick made a ‘hmm’ noise as his eyes looked her over, Ellie’s cheeks turned a light pink shade. “Their loss for missing out then.”

“R-Right..”

He looked back at Lucia who they had stepped away from, a sadness settling in his eyes once more. “She would’ve liked you, I can tell. Lucia had good judgement when it came to people, could tell if they were bad news from just a few seconds.” 

Ellie’s eyes narrowed .”So there’s a good chance the person who did this wasn’t someone she really knew?”

“Yeah..” He frowned, rubbing a hand along his chin with a heavy sigh. “Which means this just got more difficult doesn’t it?”

“Makes it a little harder yes, but Gibbs is one of the best.”

“So are you.” He told her, taking a step closer. “You’re on his team Ellie, which means you’re one of the best too, right? I don’t trust easily, but for some reason I trust you guys to find justice for my sister.”

Ellie ducked her head hiding her smile. 

He was right though, they  _ would _ find who killed his sister. She knew she wouldn’t give up at least.

* * *

She stood off to the side watching Nick and his niece Amanda with her heart in her throat. It was an odd combination she felt. Half of her felt sad as she watched, especially seconds ago when Amanda got off the elevator spotting her uncle. With a shout of ‘Uncle Nick!’ Amanda took off running towards him, leaping into his arms as they shared a right hug, Nick’s cane having fallen to the ground as he held most of his weight on his good leg. Then Ellie felt a type of affection flow through her, her heart turning to mush as Nick whispered in his niece's ear reassuring her, hand running along her back in comfort. He was nothing but soft with her.

When she finally stepped up to them to introduce herself and get Amanda set up in the conference room, she completely missed two things.

Nick’s eyes on her speaking softly to Amanda but not treating her like a child which the younger woman hated.

And Kasie who was standing a little bit away, watching Ellie intently with narrowed eyes. 

* * *

“Sooo Ellie-” Kasie said slowly without turning away from her computer. Ellie who was sitting at the table behind her on a stool glanced up, fingers stopping hovering over the keyboard of her laptop. “What’s up with you and Torres?”

Ellie’s foot slipped on the bar around the stool, and in seconds Kasie spun around at the loud scraping of the stool followed by a thump. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of Ellie on the floor.

“Did..did you just  _ fall off _ Ellie?!”

“...Yes?”

She groaned and sat up, hand rubbing her already sore side. “You surprised me that’s all!”

“Dude you literally just fell to the  _ ground _ at me just  _ asking _ .” Kasie pointed a finger at her, amusement dancing in her eyes.

“My foot slipped!”

“Damn girl you got it that bad?”

“It- It was the stool Kasie!”

“Uh-huh, and I’m on my way to rule the fairy kingdom after work today.”

Ellie groaned and fell back on the floor. “I’m pathetic, let me just lay here and die a slow death.”

Kasie snorted and walked to her, leaning over her with a raised eyebrow. “Ellie, I’m not judging you for this-” She waved her hands around in the air. “-thing with Torres, I mean the man is  _ hot _ .”

“Kasie!” She sat up, leaning on her elbows. “Ugh what am I going to do? We’re getting closer to finding out who it is which means closing the case, and there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to just because it means he won’t be around anymore. I’m a horrible person!” She whined, dropping back down onto the floor.

“Okay you know what-” Kasie huffed and got down beside her, grunting as she laid down too. She turned her head to look at the blonde. “I think it’s pretty normal to feel that way Ellie, but you’ll have his number if you ever wanna use it! Or you can ya know..ask if it’s okay to keep in touch like a normal person? Or better yet, ask the hottie out on a date!”

“Hottie?” Ellie mumbled to herself, followed by a yelp as Kasie pinched her side hard. 

“Focus Ellie, focus!” Kasie clapped her hands. “We are  _ not _ letting Marine Hottie get away from you!” 

“Oh god what did I get myself into?” Ellie covered her face with her hands and moaned.

* * *

Ellie walked along the path to the coffee cart outside with heavy steps, hand on her neck trying to work the kinks out from sitting at her desk for so long. They finally had a suspect list, but it was a long one. Luckily they got some help when Alex Quinn a fellow agent who worked at FLETC came to nag Gibbs about sending all the potential agents she sent him away in some form or another, and volunteered to help cross names off their list. 

She was reluctant to take a few minutes break despite knowing she needed it to refuel, but Quinn somehow managed to convince Gibbs. 

Taking a sip of her coffee when she finally had it in hand, Ellie turned towards the nearby bench when she saw her. Amanda sat there staring at something in her hand.

Ellie looked around but there was no Nick in sight.

"Amanda?" Ellie stepped up to her, calling her name softly to not scare her.

She hastily wiped at her cheek before looking up, but it was obvious Ellie interrupted her. 

"Agent Bishop." Amanda forced a smile. 

"Ellie." She quickly said. "You can uh just call me Ellie."

Amanda nodded, pointing to the bench. "You can sit if you want."

Ellie smiled at her and sat, taking a long sip of her coffee. Her eyes glanced to the item in Amanda's hand, a picture. Amanda sniffled and lifted the picture for Ellie to see. "It was taken four years ago..one of the happiest days I can remember." She smiled sadly, fingers swiping across the faces on the picture.

Glancing at it, Ellie felt her heart squeeze in her chest. Lucia, Amanda, Nick, and another man Ellie recognized as Amanda's dad were smiling at the camera with the biggest grins. George Campbell had died four years ago in a car accident, Amanda was only fourteen. And now at eighteen both her parents were gone. 

"You all look happy." Ellie told her, before her eyes narrowed in one the ridiculous shirt Nick was wearing and snorted. Amanda's smile turned genuine as she realized what Ellie spotted. 

Nick's shirt was neon pink with a giant cat face smack in the middle.

"He lost a bet." Amanda giggled, eyes now shining more than sad. "He bet mom he could go the whole trip without in his words 'turning the charm on for the ladies'." Ellie made a little sound of amusement, a grin on her lips while Amanda made a face and rolled her eyes. "He lost, and mom dared him to wear that shirt for the whole day while we went out to all the shops."

Ellie laughed, barely knowing him but being able to picture his disgruntled look perfectly. "Where is he anyway?" She asked, still chuckling and missing the knowing look in Amanda's eyes.

"He went back to his apartment to grab something for me. There a reason you wanna know where my uncle is, Ellie?" 

"What? No! I just always see him with you when you two are here and-"

Amanda coughed out a laugh. "I was joking."

"Oh." Ellie mumbled, cringing inside. She really needed to _ relax.  _

Amanda hummed and looked back down at the photo, eyes turning sad in seconds. "Are you guys close?" She asked quietly.

"We're a step closer every day." Ellie told her, knowing it wasn't enough but it was all she could give. 

* * *

A week later and they found him. 

Brenton Vasquez, a man Lucia went on one date with only to tell him it wouldn’t work out at the end of the night, a man who didn’t take rejection well. They connected four other murders to him after finding trophies he kept of his kills.

Ellie felt accomplished at closing the case, but also felt down for what it would mean. 

She watched Nick and Amanda step onto the elevator with a heavy feeling in her chest. He looked directly at her and smiled, one with a meaning behind it she couldn’t understand. 

For some reason she felt her throat close up at tears welled up in her eyes. 

It was probably the lack of sleep and food she had. Just enough to keep her going but not good for her body. She felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned her head, Gibbs stood just behind her but his eyes were still on the elevator doors that just closed. He gave her shoulder a squeeze before walking away. Ellie turned to follow, her eyes kept drifting back to the closed metal doors. 

She’d call or text him she promised herself. She  _ would _ .

“You alright?”

Ellie nodded, giving Jack a forced smile. “Yeah..of course I am. I barely knew the guy, remember?”

“Really?” Jack made a ‘hmm’ sound. “Ellie you don’t have to be told things about the person to know them. You can find out by studying them, listening to them.”

“So you’re saying I know Nick more than I think?”

“You did spend the most time with him.” She pointed out, lips curling up into a smile for a second.

Stopping, Ellie looked at Jack with narrowed eyes. “What was that tone?”

“What tone?” Jack asked innocently, but wasn’t hiding it very well.

“...What did you guys do?” Squinting her eyes at the other woman, Ellie put her hands on her hips. 

Jack laughed and shrugged, finding the whole thing amusing. “We made a bet on if you two would have a date set up before he left after we found our guy.”

“Who?!”

“All of us.” 

Ellie gaped at her. “Wait.. _ all of you _ ?!”

“That’s right Bishop, all of us.” 

She spun around to stare at Gibbs’ back as he walked away. “Gibbs was in on it?!”

“Not just Gibbs.” Jack said with a snicker, pointing upwards. 

Ellie let out a low whine, looking up to see Vance watching over everyone from over the railing. “Vance too?!”

“You two practically shouted it, especially with those looks exchanged.”

“We did not!”

“Uh- you did actually-”

“Jimmy!”

* * *

from Ellie grumbled under her breath walking to the diner where she’d be meeting this guy Kasie was trying to set her up with, for the whole week she dealt with her until she finally cracked and agreed to meet this mystery man at the diner (thankfully a familiar place with familiar people if she needed an escape plan). So Saturday afternoon, Ellie put just enough effort into her appearance and set off with nervous butterflies in her stomach. 

Kasie  _ and _ Jack were right when they said it was a long time since she was actually interested in a guy. Her marriage with Jake ended in a disaster breaking her heart to pieces, things with Qasim didn’t work out as they weren’t the right fit no matter how much he helped heal her, Boyd turned out to be an ass, and Richard who was years younger than her fizzled out quick for that same reason. 

Okay, so Ellie wouldn’t mind the fun of a relationship again or even just simple dating. 

But the one man she could picture all of it with, she hadn’t seen or heard from in four months. Last she heard, Nick took Amanda back to Florida where he and Lucia grew up. Ellie never had the guts to call or text him no matter how long she stared at his contact in her phone. Maybe it was for the best, she barely knew the guy anyway no matter how strong her attraction was to him.

Stepping into the diner, Ellie glanced around to see enough people that she couldn’t easily get an advantage point to see who could possibly be this guy she knew nothing about. Walking up the counter, she sighed in relief at seeing Elaine walking towards her. 

“Hey there Ellie.” She greeted with a teasing smile. “Looking for that date of yours?”

Ellie’s eyebrows furrowed. “How did you-”

“Kasie gave me a heads up.” Elaine chuckled and pointed to the back of the diner. “He’s over there, and let me say, you’re one lucky lady.” She winked with an amused grin before turning towards a customer who just sat at one of the stools. 

“Weird..” She mumbled under her breath, but set out to the back of the diner, taking out her phone to send a quick ‘what the hell’ text to Kasie as she walked. 

Ellie froze as a familiar object got into her line of sight. Blinking, she slowly lifted her gaze from the cane resting against the side of the booth. Her breath caught in her throat. Nick sat in the booth, turning his head from the window, his eyes  _ lighting up _ as he saw her.

She quickly sat down across from him as her knees weakened. “Nick? What- what’s going on? I was supposed to have-”

“A date?” He grinned at her and Ellie right away saw the difference from four months ago. That deep sadness in his eyes had cleared, and in place of it was a sparkle of mischief. “Well what do you know..same here.”

Ellie’s brain seemed to stutter, happening the second she saw his cane. “Wait so...Kasie-”

“Set you up?” Nick laughed. “You're not the only one who had my number Ellie..which by the way, you didn’t use.” He half teased her, the smile on his face dropping a little. “Though it’s not like I tried to reach out either.”

She shook her head, reaching across the table before she could stop herself, taking hold of his hands. “You didn’t need to Nick, you needed to heal and help Amanda not worry about talking to me or not.”

“I wanted to, you know.” He told her, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. “But I never actually knew if you were seeing someone-”

“I wasn’t!” She said quickly, before cringing inside at how eager she sounded. “I mean..I- I wasn’t seeing anyone, and you know..obviously still not.” Ellie bit her lip, giving a mental sigh.

“Good to know.” Nick chuckled, looking at her with his perfect smile that made her insides flutter. “Because I plan to have another date..one that wasn’t set up by Kasie or being watched over by the woman working at the counter.” Nick said in amusement, nodding towards the direction.

Ellie looked over to see Elaine watching them pretending to clean the counter. She laughed under her breath and gave the woman a smile confirming everything was fine and that was  _ enough _ staring. Though she had a pretty good feeling Elaine was just being Kasie’s spy. 

“Another date?” Ellie bit her cheek to try and contain her grin. “That'd be- that'd be great.”

“Great.” Nick smiled at her, one that reached his eyes that she hadn’t seen four months ago.

Oh Ellie was  _ doomed _ . 

But she still sent Kasie a gift basket full of all her favorite candy and snacks, along with another when she and Nick became official much to the amusement of  _ everyone _ , especially Kasie and Amanda. 

**Author's Note:**

> I might write a chap 2 for smut if enough people are interested in it?


End file.
